Quintessentially Me
by NabikiB
Summary: Within hours of the original Eleventh Doctor's departure from their non-natal universe, his near twin finds that he must regain the title of The Doctor, in full. NEW Numbering used!
1. Squabbling Muses

This is just a bit of fun I left in after removing the 'are you interested in this notion' bits. I figured it was too funny to remove.

* * *

Eleven1: _"OI!" (Velvet)_

Eleven2: "She's _got _a point. The brain we've got doesn't do any good unless we actually _**use **_it!" (Brown pinstripes)

Rose: "Too true. When you said the regeneration had gone wrong, it didn't even occur to me, _at least at first_, that what you _meant _was that the new body was pretty...pretty _stupid_."(growled) "And what's up with the purple velvet, anyway?"

Eleven1: _"Rooooooooose!" _(whining) "It's nice!"

Ten: "I'm so, so sorry, Rose...I'd fix me if I could."(ex-Nine)

Rose: "It's alright, maybe you've actually got your brain turned back _on, _the second try. And the velvet is _prissy_..."

Ten: "That's _one _word for it..."

Eleven2: (grimly) "I did. You _needed _me to be whole and _**me**_. My brain is both turned on _and in working order." _

Ten: _"That's good."_

Eleven1: *grumbles and pouts*

Rose: "Ten? Mum isn't here right now. Would you please just reach over there and...?"

Ten: "My pleasure." *reaches over to Eleven1 and knocks himself on his elder backside when he backhands himself..._hard_.*

Eleven1: "OW!" (crumpled in a heap on the ground)

Eleven2 and Rose: _**"Thank you!"**_

Ten: "Ooooh, no problem, _not at all_...that felt _good!" _*shifts uncomfortably and glances down at himself* "Damn..._now _I've got a wet spot."

Eleven1: _"Pervert." (sniffles)_

Eleven2: "Oh, by the way, Ten, as far as _this _universe is concerned, I'm First, now. Got the whole round to do over. The vortex stopped Rose's aging, did you know? You'll see her again..._eventually_. And cuz this is round _two_, you'll even know who she was to us _before_...and who she now _is_."

Ten: "Well...isn't _that _something." (smiles that old _lovin' _smile at his girl)

Eleven2: "Pop by 12th and tell him the pocket universe he's looking for is over here. All the science says so anyway...still have to find it, though." (hands him a slip of paper with coordinates and a date on it) "Aim for _that _us. We didn't do it, you know. Rose made Bad Wolf make sure we didn't _have _to."

Ten: "I can do that." (wonder in his face) "I just _remembered _that trick!"

Eleven2: "Our girl saves us from having to push the button and _that _us, (points at Eleven1 with his thumb) the _jackass _one, left her to _rot_. If I _hadn't_ existed...if I hadn't _been here _for her..."

Ten: "If I wasn't already past me, I'd kill you for that, Eleven1!"

Twelve: "Feel free, it's already past his time anyway, cuz _I'm_ here..."

Eleven1: "Now...just hold on there...just...no!"

Rose: "I have a better idea. Force feed him this..." (Pops the top on a can of cold pear juice and hands it to Ten who shows the label to the evilly grinning Twelve and Eleven2.)

Twelve: "_That _certainly works." (reaches for his previous self with both hands)

Eleven: (staring in shocked horror) "**No**..._nonononononononononono_! _**Nooooooooooo!**_

Eleven2: "Yes, yes it _does_." (Grabs Eleven1 from behind and gets a good handful of hair to drag his head back)

Ten: "Oh, I'm definitely _**never **_going to get the wet spot out of these jeans after _this_... (grabs Eleven1's jaw and cranks it open to pour a good forty ounces of _**pear juice**_ down his successor's throat.)

Author: "All right, you lot, _settle down_. _**Ten**_..._put him down_...in one piece and still _breathing_. No, don't you _don't_ get to let him drown in that stuff..."

Eleven1: (alternating between gurgling and gagging)

Eleven1: (spitting uselessly once released) _**"Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeewwwwww!"**_

* * *

Author: (rolling her eyes at her muses antics) *_clears throat_*

_"Okay, you lot, settle down, we've already gotten started...first chapter (well, the first real chapter) was posted._


	2. A Time Lord is Born

Okay, here's chappie one...on your own head be it...

* * *

Summary: Within hours of the original Eleventh Doctor's departure from their non-natal universe, his near twin finds that he must regain the title of The Doctor, in full...if he is to save Rose Tyler's mind. Soul Bonds were never meant to be torn to shreds and while her soul recognizes him as her mate, just as if he were the original, the bond itself was formed with a _full _Time Lord...this part human business isn't quite cutting the mustard and the destabilizing bond is turning Rose into a vegetable...slowly: While he watches. Fortunately, the Duplicate is anything but helpless.

* * *

_**Quintessentially Me**_

* * *

He had no choice if he were to have a mate with a mind instead of...he shut off that line of thinking. He had to, that was all. He bent his formidable strength of will to the first movements of forcing his TNA to overwrite the weaker, human DNA...before it's presence killed his Rose, as he put her to bed and put obstacles around her form to keep her on the bed. Bondmates didn't _survive_ the death of the other person. Right now, the soul bond he had with Rose thought he was either dead or near death. The departure of his original body and the difference in his genetic structure had the Bond in the process of shutting Rose's body down.

Partly human was still mostly Time Lord, he mused grimly as he settled Rose's still form in the bedroom of the tiny cabin Pete had found for them in the Northwestern portion of America...it was isolated and had required a hovercraft to even reach. The area had the only native, clean soil on this version of Earth that he could safely grow the young TARDIS in, at a reasonable speed. He refused to think of how badly he needed an _adult _TARDIS' MedBay at the moment. Mostly Time Lord and more to the point, mostly a Time Lord still within the first 15 hours of regeneration, however unorthodox it had been, meant he had the ability to _cheat_. Granted, he only had about two hours left, but this wasn't going to take long: _It never did._

As soon as he got her non-responsive form bundled on all sides by pillows, like some huge, strange looking infant, to keep her from rolling off, he settled on the grass outside the cabin and _concentrated_.

With regeneration energy still in him, he concentrated on letting his body know it had erred badly and mixed TNA with DNA from another, lesser being. This happened sometimes, which was why he'd warned Rose off and to one side the first time, when he had regenerated from Ten to his present form. _His _body, no matter which one it was, had a genetic failsafe built into it while still on the loom. Just at the moment, he was grateful for that precaution. This was why he _always _had so much extra energy, in the event of a genetic emergency, there was more than enough to run a corrective re-do on the regeneration, to remap every gene that had just been placed and heal it so that he would be _fully _Time Lord.

But it came at a cost. Rose might well die anyway, if he did this and it failed, but he also knew that if he did nothing her death was a _surety_. He braced for the glowfires and let the extra energy take him once more...this time, in a _correctly_ sequenced regeneration event. If it succeeded, two things would be true...he would belong to this new universe as it's resident Time Lord in truth...it's First, at that...and he would no longer look like his twin.

On the plus side, if he succeeded, the bond itself would respond to his presence as a full Time Lord and heal Rose. There was a very good chance that if this worked, when he woke from it, she just _might _already be sitting next to him as the glowfires faded.

* * *

He panted heavily, as the glowfire died, that one had been rather painful...but it had worked. He kicked his bypasses on and off, just as a test and then checked the rest of himself. Once he was done checking his internal systems, he checked his senses...this deep forest smelled wonderful, actually, the Doctor thought as he let it's scents drift past his nose.

"Doctor?" She was two feet away and on her knees, trembling like she was freezing.

_"Yes."_

"Why...? You were _fine_."

"Come here, Rose Tyler. _Come on_, we need to talk and I need to explain a few things I should have long ago. Come on, yes, _there_." He told her as he drew her on to his lap and into his arms. He spoke about the bond that had formed between them, what it was, how it behaved and what it had done. He told her why it had responded to him the way it had and what he'd done to fix it. "You would've died simply because I wasn't Time Lord enough for it to recognize me. Bondmates do not survive the death of the other bondmate. Fixed things aren't always _places_...sometimes a Fixed thing can be a fact. This fact, or rather, bundle of facts is a FACT, a fixed thing. I didn't let him drop me here with you, just to let that happen in the first hour." The form that, in the other universe would eventually be the 12th Doctor was the First in this universe...and he was grounded until the infant TARDIS grew up.

"What my otherself never figured out...mostly because he never bothered to _think _about it, is that holding the Vortex and being Bad Wolf changed your DNA utterly. You are no more human than I am now...though you are no Time Lady or even Gallifreyan. However, you _are _physically compatible with us, _as far as baby making goes_...and our bond will ensure we both have many, many centuries together. In the other universe, I was nearly at the end of my lives. I had one or two more, if I was careful and that would have been it." He told her. "_Here_, though...I'm the first. First Body, first Time Lord 'born' here and so natural to this universe and there are no limits on my regenerations here because there are none so well established here that they became a fixed part of this universe as they did back there...millions of years ago. Gallifreyan years."

He took her face gently in his hands and kissed her soft mouth gently but thoroughly and when he raised his head she followed his mouth and took it back. He grinned against her lips and let her have another before he pulled away again.

"I will _not_ do as the other Doctor did and leave you holding a shattered bond, a broken trust and a broken heart. _**I will not**_. I _cannot_ do that to you, because I _do_ love you Rose Tyler." He kissed her gently on her forehead, but then drew back a bit to fold her carefully against himself, her ear over his chest where he knew full well she'd both hear the truth of his heartsbeat and cherish the sound of that strong doubled beat. She did, too. She stilled in shock, sighed and then just sort of melted into him.

"No tweed or _mismatching _bowties. Bowties _are_ cool...but only when they _match _your outfit." She told him in a warning tone. "I've seen this you. While I was looking for the other one this you was yesterday. And this one was wearing a broad bowtie when he _should _have used a string style bowtie."

"Okay...so you're saying that I _garbled_ the signature outfit a bit?"

"Yeah. And Bad Wolf showed me this you wearing an entirely different one that looked much better...and all it lacked was the right type of bowtie. We'll get it for you. Long, dark maroon frock coat, like a marshal or someone from the American West, yeah? And a Stetson...she showed me you wearing one, once...just a moment or so and it looked good. _Really_ good, actually. You had shoes on, though, instead of walking or hiking boots...I think hiking boots would have worked better."

"Okay, okay...it's alright. I'll let you help me put together my outfit."

"Yeah, cuz it's not enough to just be _cool_...I want every woman that sees you to be jealous that you're mine instead of her's." Rose told him bluntly. "Your signature outfit this time needs to be hot and it needs to _rock_."

He chuckled at her determination that he look _good_ as well as cool...and as she put it, that he 'rock'. He saw nothing wrong with her suggestions, so far. She was the one who'd seen this form of him, after all.

"What did I look like _without_ your input?"

"A really old fashioned kind of nerd, like, an 1870s version...not even remotely masculine, actually...more like everyone's favorite little brother. Didn't even make it to geek. You looked like Clark Kent minus the Superman bit..._as a teenager_."

"_Ow_." He winced. _A traditional hayseed, then._ "Yeah, let's _not _do that."

* * *

****TBC****

* * *

Ten: (backhands Eleven1 again) "I seriously can't believe you put her through that. You nearly killed her with that stupidity. No wonder our author thinks you're an idiot. And you know what? _She's right._"

Author: "Brainless Time Lord _used to be_ an oxymoron...nice going Eleven1, _seriously_. Good job there. **_Idiot_**.


	3. The Dance of Family

Summary: Dignified, but Hot, The Doctor and Rose settle down to grow a new TARDIS and the Doctor discovers that the Slow Path means getting to know yourself and your in-laws really well. Perhaps, _too _well.

* * *

**Quintessentially Me - Slow Steps**

* * *

He twisted and turned in the medium heavy corduroy frock coat with suede patches on the elbows and at the collar, for accents and eyed himself from every angle. He wore a string tie, instead of a bow tie, which, Rose told him, was only for tuxedos...which were traditionally reserved, or so she claimed, for weddings, funerals or other such _mournful _events. She had then made a face and asked him if he _wanted _to be depressed all the time...making him sigh and shake his head to the negative. String ties it was, she always knew just how to ask just the right questions.

Every string tie was adorned, in some way, there was a vast array of decorations and types of string to bear them and he couldn't really imagine having such a complete collection as to have them all...they were really firm statements in a lightweight package and in a pinch, the heavy, laminated string could be useful for other things. Rose really liked his stetson, though he rather thought the rather form fitting blue jeans she had insisted on were a _bit _much. Until he got to know denim a bit better, anyway.

There were very few places that denim didn't fit right into, he found. And they were _comfortable_. Somehow, his lighter corduroy waistcoat seemed to work with frock coat and jeans as well or better than with more formal trousers...he didn't get it, he _really _didn't, but he also didn't _care _as long as it kept Rose's eyes focused on his backside with _that _expression on her lovely face. He especially appreciated the way she kept one arm around his waist with her fingers in one of his back pockets and her thumb passed through a belt-loop in a clear statement of possessiveness. What had she done to him, to enjoy her claiming of him so much? Sure, _some _of it was the bond, but he _was _mister-anti-domestic here...and he _loved _it: It made no sense, really...nor did the fact that he didn't care.

* * *

The Doctor was learning, as Pete later assured him, the same thing _any_ other long time bachelor learned when at last he fell in love...that Rose was his strength, not his weakness and she was what made each moment _worth _experiencing. This was quite true...though he was still stubborn about the pair of them living mostly alone and hard to reach. Any consulting was to be done on the net, or as he put it, "We'll see you after we've bonded to the new TARDIS in her working form."

Not that _Jackie _left it at that, the way Pete would have done. At least once a month during the warmer months, Jackie had herself flown up to visit them. The upside was that Pete had several chefs on retainer and any food she brought had been made by the _experts_.

Rose had insisted on this after the first and _last _time that her mum brought them 'home cooking'. She had simply taken the hovercraft back to Pete's place, with the 'food' and asked the chefs to each sample it...then, once they were finished hacking, asked them not to allow her mother anywhere near the kitchens again. She had returned to him with several meals worth of _real _food.

"Pete's chefs have promised me they will lock up the kitchens and just leave things that don't need heating in the 'overnight' fridge for snacks for the household...and they also promised to make sure any meals will be both properly prepared _and _home-style. They've told me they'd swear to her that we'll never know the difference and we've only to keep up our end...we'll take turns calling them with thanks while the other one keeps her busy with praise for her thoughtfulness."

He recalled snorting laughter but agreeing. She was wonderfully sneaky, his Rose.

* * *

The chief chef watched the lady of the house depart in the hovercraft and sighed, he could swear there was a lingering bad flavor that was noticeable every time she went to see her daughter and the Time Lord that had saved Earth from the cybermen...toting a meal from the cooks. The chefs all still had nightmares about the one bite Rose had insisting he and his staff try, _of her mother's notion of food_.

He still didn't know what she'd done to the salad and his top under chef swore Jackie had added floor soap to the gravy. The rice was a single, wet lump in the bowl...so soggy that it looked like cold grits. He shuddered at the memory and returned to work, making supper for Jackie, Pete and the baby. The rest of the staff had eaten earlier...Jackie had insisted they make sure to take care of themselves. He had to admit, the parallel Jackie was a lot easier to work for than the native one had been.

But then, the new one had been a hair-dresser for most of her life and that meant she knew what _work _was. The maids mostly picked up after Mr. Tyler and the baby, Jackie looked after herself, than you very much. She'd told the housekeeper that she was neither helpless nor lazy...that's when she told her what she'd done for a living in her old universe. She showed the woman her calloused hands, a clear indication she was no stranger to hard labor.

"Raised Rose by myself, didn't I? Had bills to pay, didn't I? Think I raised her and paid my bills sittin' 'round on me bum?" She'd asked Marline pointedly. "Now, you tell the rest of the help and stop thinkin' I'm like the other me, with my nose ever so high in the air."

It had cleared the air, though the maids took awhile to get used to the fact that if she entered a room where they were cleaning, she'd pitch right in and do half herself. She was alright, this new Mrs. Tyler. Everyone knew 'her' Pete had been killed by hit and run driver when Rose was just an infant, so she valued _him _as she should: No nagging and complaining from _her_, no siree.

But she still wasn't allowed in the kitchens until they were locked down for the night. Her daughter had insisted...and after sampling that..._stuff_...the kitchen staff agreed. The general rule was 'Do Not Allow Mrs. Tyler to cook...and if she slips past you, as she sometimes does, feed her son quickly so that he's full, warn her husband and her daughter or her daughter's husband. And...try to steal the current sample of..._stuff_...before anyone ingested it.

The phrase 'I wouldn't if I were you...that's Mrs. Tyler's Stuff. Made fresh less than half an hour ago...I need new locks, Boss." was never misunderstood.

* * *

"Ah...Rose...what are you _doing_?"

"Building a tree-house."

"Why?"

"Centerpiece for a playground for Tony."

"Which we need because...?"

"Mum and Pete are taking a vacation and we're taking Tony while they're gone. He's more hyper than you are...I don't really want to have to chase him through the forest. He's faster than I am and hard to see in the underbrush. A nice large playground with lots of things to swing from, climb on or through or under..._fenced_...is smart, yeah?"

"Ah."

"Well, when it's my turn, anyway. Since you have all those neat extra senses, you can take him hiking if you want...you haven't yet."

"Well, that's true. You're a bit too pregnant for that anyway."

"Also true." She smiled up at him.

"Which do you want our sons to be, both me, one me and one last me or both last me?"

"One Northern and one that pretty version...the Mr. Darcy one."

"Ah...interesting choice for twins."

"Well, that way we'll have the clothes for them when they're old enough, yeah? We don't have pinstripes and I'd rather you were the only one wearing the sig set. I can get a Jane Austen set, from infant onward, from any theatre and black jeans, work boots, jumpers and black leather jackets from...well_...just about anywhere_."

"True." He hesitated. "There's a good possibility you'll get two of them...each, if you have them. Our sons, and then me later, since I'm really the First for this universe. And our boys, with luck, will still be on their first bodies when that happens."

"What?"

"I forced the second regeneration, Rose. Forced regenerations do not, generally speaking, last long. They tend to be unstable."

_"You don't even have that weird sounding flu you said you did, do you?"_

"No."

"But...I _like _this you. You haven't had it long enough...and I want more of _that _bum."

He smiled at her. She never wanted him to go, but never hesitated to grab the new him with both hands and hang on. "I love you, too, Rose."

"Promise me one thing."

"What is that?"

"Beauty's zero room is complete and usable...so make sure to stay there until you're stable? I'll bring tea, fixings for it, food and your clothing can wait, jimjams will do until you wake up."

_"What?"_

"You're fighting it. I can tell. Come on then, let's get this over with so I can sort you out. I'm just glad she can't fly yet."

As they entered the partly grown TARDIS, Rose patted the console..."Hide _that_ from him until he's stable, lass."

It disappeared as he turned around, "OI!" He protested but Rose simply pushed him toward the tiny zero room. Once he was in, she closed the door and went to find him jimjams and tea.

The flash around the corners of the door vanished as the ship sealed him in properly. No need to _attract_ unfriendly neighbors, after all.

* * *

_~*~ TBC ~*~_


End file.
